Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
All Commentaries on 2 Kings 3:27 Go To 2 Kings 3
Ephrem The Syrian
AD 373
People imitate those who do good deeds, therefore, not out of love for these good deeds but because of their usefulness. For Balaam also flattered [God], in that he had seven altars built because he had heard concerning these ancient ones that, with regard to the sacrifices they had offered to him, their prayers were accepted. The king of Moab took note of Jephthah. But, because it was his firstborn and a human being rather than an animal that he killed, God took pity on him, since it was in affliction that he did it and not through love. In the case of Jephthah, if it had been one of his servants who had been first to encounter him, he would have killed him. But, in order that people would not engage in the sacrifice of their fellow human beings, he caused his own daughter to meet him, so that others would be afraid, lest they offer human beings by vow to God.
